Setting goals is important. we learned about the importance of setting goals. Why is it important not to simply tell employees ‘to do their best’ when assigning tasks? Using the four points under “How to Set Effective Goals”

1. Assign specific goals. Employees who receive specific goals usually perform better than those who do not.

2. Assign measurable goals. Put goals in quantitative terms and include target dates or deadlines. If measurable results will not be available, then “satisfactory completion”—such as “satisfactorily attended workshop”—is the next best thing.

3. Assign challenging but doable goals. Goals should be challenging, but not so difficult that they appear unrealistic.

4. encourage participation. Managers often face this question: Should I tell my employees what their goals are, or let them participate with me in setting their goals? The evidence suggests that participatively set goals do not consistently result in higher performance than assigned goals, nor do assigned goals consistently result in higher performance than participative ones. It is only when the participatively set goals are set higher than the assigned ones that the participatively set goals produce higher performance. Because it tends to be easier to set higher standards when your employees participate, participation tends to lead to improved performance.

write down five goals you have for your career and your work.